Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is considering visiting Tokyo to mend ties between South Korea and Japan, which have been strained over the past years for Japan’s failure to apologize for its wartime atrocities, government officials said Wednesday.
The bilateral ties have soured under the current administrations of President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe due to disputes over their shared history, including the issue of Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
“We are considering various options,” a South Korean government official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.
Another official said the visit is under consideration, while a diplomatic source said it is being “positively reviewed.”
According to Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Yun is considering visiting Japan later this month to hold talks with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, on June 21 and attend a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ normalization of ties the following day.
The visit would lay the groundwork for a future summit between the countries’ leaders. It would also be Yun’s first visit to the neighboring nation as foreign minister.
Since taking office in February 2013, Park has not held a one-on-one meeting with Abe, insisting the Japanese leader apologize for the wartime sex slavery.
South Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45. (Yonhap)
